Spooks and Spies and Government Skullduggery
by xxBethJoyxx
Summary: Alice Westen was not expecting her brother to tumble back into her life, but she was glad he did. Working with Michael, Alice now is devoting herself to help people, hoping to make up for all the injuries her past caused. Jesse/OC. Rated T for violence
1. Prolouge

_**Hello Readers, welcome to my Burn Notice story. If you notice any spelling or grammar errors, please point them out so I can fix them; and smiles ensue when you comment on the story with your thoughts =) **_

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Alice Westen raced down the street, pushing people out of her way as she went. She turned the corner and ran into a parking lot with few cars, and even fewer people. "Crap," she muttered to herself and ducked behind a Mercedes as two bullets flew by her head. She pulled out her 45. Cal, PT 1911 Taurus and shot back over the hood. She took cover once more as her phone started to ring.

"Not a good time, Ma." She used her shoulder and head to hold the phone to her ear as she shot over the hood again, taking down one of the men pursuing her.

_"Was that a gun?"_

"Yeah, kind of in the middle of something."

"_Are you alright, Alice? Are the police there?"_

"I'm fine, ma. It's nothing. What's up?" She ducked behind the vehicle and switched out her empty clip for a fresh one.

"_When are you going to be finished?" _

"Hopefully soon. Why?"

"_You should stop by the house. There's someone in town that is really anxious to see you."_

"Is that so? Mind telling me who it is?" Alice took position over the hood and shot down her last two pursuers. She started over to the three, lying on the ground

"_I want it to be a surprise. You'll come then?" _

"I'll see what I can do, bye" She hung up her phone and surveyed the damage. Two of the men she'd shot were unconscious, the other began to reach for his gun, holding his wounded leg with his other hand.

"I don't think so." She used the butt of her gun to knock him out. "Thank you, gentlemen, for you cooperation," she took a folder from one of the men's attaché. "I hope to never see you again."

She perked up at the sound of sirens in the distance, took off to the other end of the parking lot and made her way back to headquarters.

"Here are the deeds to the club; signed, sealed, and delivered," she tossed the folder onto the desk of the well-dressed man in front of her.

"Very good," he nodded. Alice looked wearily at the muscle men with assault rifles placed variously around the room.

"I assume that's all for now?" She asked.

"Not quite," the man answered.


	2. Old Friends

Alice walked up the stairs to her mother's house and knocked. She pulled her blonde hair up into a pony tail from the Miami heat while she waited.

"Alice, what are you doing here?" her mother asked as she answered the door.

"You called and asked me to come over," she answered, walking into the house.

"I called three days ago."

"Yeah, well, I did the best I could."

"Alice, hey," Nate said, coming in from the kitchen.

"Nate," Alice smiled and gave him a hug.

"Been a while," he stated. Alice nodded in agreement.

"So uh … is Nate who you wanted me to see? Cause he lives in Miami, ma; I can see him anytime."

"You didn't tell her?" Nate asked.

"Michael's back in town," Maddy explained.

Alice smiled. "Really? That's great."

"Yeah, uh, Alice, want to help me in the kitchen for a moment?" Maddy asked, giving her a look.

"Uh … okaaay." She followed Maddy into the kitchen. "What's up?"

"Michael's on his way over and Nate is asking him for help. I don't want you involved." Maddy explained quietly.

"Why not?"

"I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, with all these guns and what not, but I don't want my little girl in any more trouble than she needs to be."

"I'm not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself. If Nate needs help, I want to be a part of it."

"You'll always be my little girl whether you like it or not. I do not want you getting involved in this, is that clear?"

Alice held her ground for a moment, than sighed. "Alright."

"Thank you."

Just then they heard a thump from the dining room. Maddy went in first followed by Alice. There they found Michael letting go of Nate after having pinned him down.

"Michael!" Alice went over and hugged him.

"Alice, hi." Michael responded.

"Michael, what are you doing?" Maddy asked, helping Nate off the ground.

"It's alright, Mom. I deserved it." Nate answered.

"He deserves a lot more than that." Michael replied.

"You need to forgive your brother, Michael. Alright? It was years ago." Maddy scolded.

"He took out 10 credit cards under my name, and then he hit me in the back of the head with a telephone book." Michael defended.

"No, he's right. It's true. I was totally wrong. But you were so angry, it was really more like self-defence."

"You lost my car in a card game."

"Well, I needed the money, Alice was God knows where, and you weren't helping me out. Besides, nothin' ventured, nothin' gained, Bro." Nate replied.

"It was a rental car you ventured." Michael clarified.

"Well, uh, you know if they didn't charge you for it, it's like playing with house money."

Michael went into the kitchen and flicked on the garbage disposal. "The disposal works. There was nothing wrong with it, was there?"

"Well, how else was I supposed to get you to see your brother?" Maddy questioned. "Someone needs your help, Michael. Alright, Nate. Tell him."

"Yeah, uh, your buddy, Bill, from high school," Nate said.

"Since when was Bill his buddy?" Alice asked.

"He wasn't, I worked for his dad," Michael answered, heading for the door.

"Well, whatever. The point is, his daughter ran away. I told him you could help him out … Mom said you've got this thing going, helping people?" Nate asked.

"It's not a thing," Michael grumbled.

"Nate said Bill is desperate." Maddy added.

Michael turned around to stare at Nate. "You took money from him, didn't you? Didn't you?"

"It's not about money. I mean, it's a friend in need, Bro," Nate replied.

"How much?" Michael questioned. "Let's see it; come on."

"Alright, he - he gave me a thousand bucks to find her, for expenses." Nate pulled the money out of his pocket. "Ok, we'll - we'll split it?" Nate continued. Michael took the money from him.

"So, are you in?"

"No. I'm gonna go give him back the money." Michael answered, walking out the front door.

"Who gives money back? Hey!" Nate followed him out and closed the door behind him.

Alice looked around the room a bit before starting to say, "Sooo -"

"You're not getting involved," Maddy cut her off.

"Come on, ma. I can help." Alice tried to reason.

"Alice, we made a deal."

"Usually a deal has two sides. I just agreed."

"Well, you agreed. Now don't get involved!"

Alice let out a frustrated groan and walked out of the house.

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Alice drove over to Michael's house the next day. She wanted to spend some time with him now that he was back in Miami. When he left, it was like a part of her had gone with him. She looked up to Michael in so many ways. He had been the one to protect her from their father, he had been the strong one, he had shown her how to fight the bullies in her life and how to use your intelligence to win. When he left, she lost her courage. It had taken her a while to gain it back, but now she was strong again. She had realized that when Michael did come back, she wanted to show him how strong she really was. She gave the door a few knocks before walking in.

"You are so glad I disabled the gun," Michael told her.

Alice looked up at the door and saw a gun stringed to it. Then she noticed him on his stomach in a chair; Nate leaning over him with a knife and a bullet hole in his shoulder. "What the hell, Michael!"

"It's a long story." Michael answered simply.

Alice walked over to them and examined the wound. "This was made by a serious gun."

"Drop it, Ali." Michael commanded. "Disinfect the blade with the alcohol," he told Nate. "And then run the lighter over the edge of the blade."

Michael put a pencil in his mouth to have something to bite down on. Nate started to cut into his shoulder and Michael let out a loud groan. Alice closed her eyes and turned around.

"Goddamn, this is kinda fun," Nate said with a chuckle.

"Small incision, small incision!" Michael yelled past the pencil.

"Come on, the way you're yelling, you'd think I was pulling a goddamn cannonball out of your shoulder. Now, just a little more… Ok," Nate pulled out the bullet and dropped it into a bowl of water and blood. Alice turned back around. Nate put a patch on the wound and gave it a slap. "There you go, you big baby." Michael whimpered.

A man came in the door in a blue shirt and white pants. "Jesus, what happened? Mike, you get shot? There's cops all over the street out there. And who's this?" He asked, pointing to Alice.

"Sam, this is my sister Alice; Alice, Sam." Michael introduced them. They gave each other pleasant nods.

"And it was just this gangbang drive-by thing." Michael covered. He noticed Alice take a bit of interest when the word gangbang came up, but he chose to ignore it. "It's - it's really nothing. What happened with Jenna?"

"Well, she's still for sale, but we kept her from boarding the plane at least. Gangbangers, huh? What you - you joined the Crips or something?" Sam questioned, not really meaning it. "I mean, Mike, look, you don't want to tell me, that's fine, but I'll keep my mouth shut. I'm your friend. I'm supposed to help you with crap like this. You've gotta trust me."

"Help me with my shirt." Michael asked, pulling his good arm through the sleeve but not managing to get his other arm through. Sam helped. "I do trust you, Sam. Keeping you in the dark gives you deniability."

"Yeah, ok. I know how it works. Alright, I'll go out and help you with your cop problem." And with that, Sam left.

" 'Nice job, Nate. Thanks for pulling that bullet out of me.' Oh yeah. Hey, you're welcome, Mike. No problem. 'Hey, Nate. How 'bout that money I owe you?'" Nate mumbled loud enough for Michael to hear as he washed the blood off his hands.

"Nate, thank you." Michael pulled out an envelope with money and set it on the table. "Pay them back." Nate gave him a small smile.

Michael turned to Alice. "So, what was that about?"

"What are you talking about?" Alice looked genuinely confused.

"You perked up a bit at my gangbanger cover-up story," Michael explained.

"Yeah, well, it was a little drastic of a cover story, don't you think?" Alice lied easily and went to the refrigerator. Telling someone you're mixed up with a gang is not the greeting she wanted to have with Michael. She knew if Michael found out he'd try to fix the problem like he had done so many times in the past. She wasn't just lying to protect herself, but to protect him as well. She didn't need anymore distractions right now; he obviously had a lot on his plate. "All blueberry yogurt? No strawberry?" She took a yogurt out and rummaged around for a spoon.

"You're changing the subject. Nice distraction, but way to obvious. Next time try a better segue." Michael coached. "Now, what's going on."

"It's nothing, Michael. I have it handled."

"Alice, if this has to do with a gang, you should tell me," Michael encouraged.

"It's none of your concern. Stay out of it," she defended.

"It is my concern, you're my little sister!" he said, frustrated.

That sentence struck Alice in the wrong way. He had left without a word, leaving her to the wrath of their father and to fend for herself. If he had cared about protecting her why did he leave all those years ago. There was no reason for him to be angry now. If he had been there she could have gone to him for help the first time she associated with the gang and maybe she wouldn't be in this mess, but where had he been? In Afghanistan, or Russia, or God knows where.

"You think you can go away for what, 10 years? And then waltz back into our lives and think you can take control of everything. I don't think so." Alice threw the yogurt down on the table and strode out.

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"Hello?" Alice answered her cell from a blocked caller; but she knew exactly who it was.

"I want that man, _Dave Coleridge, _delivered to my office in three hours," a man said, before there was a click and the line went dead. It was the boss, Tony DeLuca.

Alice high-tailed it to her car. She knew exactly where Coleridge would be; she had been sent to tail him for the last week. She drove to Coleridge's office and parked down the street. It was almost his lunch hour and she could grab him then. He always walked down the street to the McDonald's on the corner. She didn't need an elaborate plan to grab Coleridge, he was a lowly office worker, terrified of a gun. The kind of person who panics in an emergency and breaks down crying.

Coleridge came down the street right on time. Alice got out and trailed behind him a few steps before covering his mouth and shoving her gun into his back. "We're going to go over to my car, and you aren't going to say anything. If you do, this goes off, and you'll have to find a new way to digest your food. Understand?"

He nodded and she led him to her car. Alice strapped his arms behind his back with zip ties and did the same for his ankles before pushing him into her trunks. She covered his mouth with duct tape and shut him in. She brought him to headquarters with a half-hour to spare. Two men came out of the warehouse and brought Coleridge in from the trunk. He and Alice were herded into DeLuca's office, the door locked behind them.

"Good job, Westen." DeLuca tossed a stack of money on the desk. Alice took it.

"Is there a reason I'm here?" Alice asked. She was just the delivery girl. She'd pick up people or items whenever she was called on, but she didn't want to get into the big stuff.

"I think it's time you started moving up; thought you should see a thing or two." DeLuca answered.

Two muscle men took Coleridge and tied him to a chair. Alice looked around warily. The last thing she wanted was to watch someone get interrogated, but at the moment, that seemed inevitable.

"Now," DeLuca pulled out his knife and held it in front of Coleridge's face, "This is a very delicate weapon." He touched the tip to his finger and showed him the blood, demonstrating how sharp it was. He then proceeded to wipe his finger off on Coleridge's shirt. "You have some information that I want. We can make this easy," DeLuca passed the blade in front of his eyes, "Or you can chose the hard and painful way."

Coleridge's eyes darted from the blade, to DeLuca, to Alice, to the guards, and back to the blade. "What - What do you want?"

"I need to know about Los Corazones Muertos."

His eyes widened and he wriggled around a bit, uncomfortably, in his restraints. "I - I don't know anything." Alice sighed quietly at how bad a liar he was.

DeLuca nodded and turned away from Coleridge, just long enough for Coleridge to let out a sign of relief before DeLuca turned back around and sliced his cheek in one swift motion.

"I guess it's the hard way," DeLuca whispered, menacingly. He drove his knife into Coleridge's thigh and twisted it. Coleridge screamed in agony. Alice brought her hand up to her mouth to stop herself from making any noise. DeLuca pulled out the knife and took a step back.

"Feel like talking now?" he growled.

Coleridge took in a deep intake of breath and said through gritted teeth, "I. Don't. Know. Anything."

Alice admired Coleridge's endurance. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to stand the pain. She wasn't sure if she could even watch this for much longer. She hurt for him. She had always known these were the type of things that happened when she delivered people to DeLuca, but she had always pushed it to the back of her mind.

DeLuca took a hold of the top of Coleridge's ear. "You know how a mother gets her children to behave by grabbing their ear? Well here, we like to do things a bit differently to get people to behave." DeLuca brought up his knife and started to saw away at Coleridge's ear. Coleridge let out sounds Alice had never heard before. Yells and screams of pure torcher. She couldn't take it anymore.

"NO! STOP! PLEASE STOP!" she cried out, tears streaming down her face.

DeLuca stopped and looked over at her. He folded his knife and put it on the table. Alice was terrified. She knew never to defy him. He could easily have her killed, or worse, tortured and killed. He took a few steps closer to her. "I thought you were ready to move up." His fist barrelled into her stomach and she doubled over in pain. "I guess I was wrong. Take this as strike one. Strike two will be a lot worse. Strike three and you're out." He turned to two of his muscle men. "Take her out back and give her a beating. She needs to learn to keep her mouth shut."

The two men nodded and escorted Alice out of the room and out behind the ware house. The first man backhanded her across the face, so hard it knocked her to the ground. He then proceeded to kick her stomach twice. The second man grabbed a bat that was leaning against the wall and struck her side. She heard a sickening crunch and felt a searing pain run throughout her left side. She tried to get up so she wouldn't be so defenceless on the ground, but the man with the bat hit her right temple with the butt of the bat, knocking her back down. They continued to kick and hit her for … she didn't know how long. All she felt was the pain. She couldn't even tell which parts of her body were being hit anymore. It was just, pain.

She laid there until it became dark, tears leaking from her eyes from the pain. She pulled out her phone and looked at it for a moment. She knew who she had to call. She knew he could help her but she was stubborn. She didn't want him to see her weekness… but she needed his help.

"_Hello?"_

"Michael?" Alice's voice was hoarse.

_"Alice? Are you ok?"_

Alice let out a sob. "I need help." She told him the address of where to find her and they hung up.

Michael was there in record time. "Oh my God, Ali. What did they do?" He began to pick her up but she winced and gritted her teeth, so he didn't proceed any further.

"I have a few broken ribs on that side," she explained. Michael managed to pick her up without causing too much pain and brought her to his car. There was a woman waiting outside the Charger.

"Michael, what happed?" She gasped.

"Not now, Fi. Can you drive Alice's car?" He asked. Fi nodded and Michael passed her the keys. "I'm taking her to the hospital." He said as he placed her in the front seat of his car.

"No, Michael, you can't. I won't be able to explain my injuries and it will just end up causing

more trouble." Alice pleaded.

Michael sighed. "Alright, new plan. Fi, do you think you could get some medical equipment? Just the basics."

"Of course, I'll meet you back at the loft." Fi got in Alice's car and drove off.

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_**Like I said before, reviews bring smiles =) **_

_**Sorry for the little cliff hanger, but more will be up soon.**_


	3. Hard Bargins

"So how did you get mixed up with the Black Dragons?" Michael asked as Fi wrapped her abdomen in replacement of a brace.

"It's not like I went looking for them. My last boyfriend was mixed up in some things, he owed them money. They offed him and they were going to off me but I managed to talk my way out of it and convinced them I was more use alive." She gave Michael a small smile, "You taught me how to do that. I became their errand girl."

"Not anymore," Michael objected.

"Well, it's not like I can just say 'Sorry, I quit, this is my two week notice.'" Alice shot back.

"If you let us help you, we'll make sure these guys never bother you again," Michael told her.

Alice hesitated, placing her hand over her broken rib, before answering, "I'm listening."

"We'll set them up, get them put away for a long time," Michael told her.

"You're going to get them arrested, yeah, that's a _great_ plan," Alice said with a laugh. Michael looked at her with a serious expression. "Okay, right, so how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"We're going to lead the police to their drug operation," Michael explained.

"By…" Alice fished for more answers.

"Michael is trapped here in Miami, your gang has a drug shipment coming in to Homestead. When Michael leaves Miami, the FBI will be after Michael. Sam is friends with those FBI agents. Michael disappears and shows back up in Miami while the FBI finds the drug shipment. Simple," Fiona told her.

"And what do I do?" Alice asked.

"You stay here and lay low until this blows over," Michael cut in.

"I want to help," Alice responded.

"First of all, if you are found anywhere near this, you will be marked by your employers, secondly, you're injured," Michael brought up.

"This? This is just a little bruise," Alice stood up, suppressing a groan as she did, "I'm feeling much better."

"Alice, sit down," Michael said, gently pushing her shoulder to sit her back down. "You are not going, end of story."

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"Check mate, again," Alice said, moving her bishop to F7. She sighed and rested her head on her arm, with her elbow propped on the table.

"You know, we could always switch back to checkers or connect four," Nate suggested. Alice had already beaten him in two games of checkers, three games of connect four, and two games of chess. Nate had won one game of connect four.

Alice stood up from the table, grimacing a bit as she did, and walked over to the door, "This is ridiculous, I can take care of myself."

Nate sprinted to the door and stood in front of it. "Yeah, that broken rib really says 'look at me, I'm a tough guy.'"

The back door opened and Michael came in. Alice walked back over to the table, "Did it work? Am I free?"

"Yes and yes," Michael answered. Alice hugged him.

"Thank you so, so much," she said. Michael stood awkwardly until she let go.

"You're welcome, just don't get into any more gangs," Michael said, light-heartedly.

Alice let out a snort, "You don't have to tell me twice. Besides, I'd hate to be stuck here for another day playing children's games with Nate."

Nate scoffed, "Next time we'll stay at my place and play black jack and rummy."

"Except there won't be a next time," Michael said, pointedly.

"Right, yeah," Nate mumbled.

"Okay, well, I'm off to … …" Alice paused before adding, "I don't have a job now."

Nate chuckled. Michael smiled in amusement, "You're welcome."

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Alice straightened her light blue blouse before stepping out of the elevator. That had been her third interview for a security agency. None had panned out. They all wanted big, strong, men; not short, thin, girls. She kept her head held high and walked back to her car. Surely some job would come along soon, she hoped. Then again, she couldn't really be choosy when it came to her next pay-check; she had bills to pay.

As she was getting in her car, her phone started to ring. "Hello?"

"Alice, hey, I think I might have a job for you," Michael's voice came through the other end.

"Really," Alice grinned, "That's great!"

"It's just for a day or two but I need you to stay with someone and watch them," Michael explained.

"You want me to babysit?"

"I … wouldn't say babysitting…"

"Then what would you say?" Alice asked.

"Accompanying a very unstable client," Michael answered.

"Alight," Alice sighed. Like she remembered earlier, she couldn't be choosy right now. "Where do you need me to go?"

Michael told her the address and she was on her way. She pulled up to a mansion with the correct address. Alice whistled, impressed. She knocked on the front door and a young man answered. He was dressed like a surfer, with a blue t-shirt and a shell necklace. "You must be Nick."

"Yeah, and who are you?" He asked, nervously.

"Alice, I'm friends with Michael Westen," she explained.

"Oh, come in," he backed away, allowing her to step into the foyer.

"So, this is the house you're sitting for? Nice," she said, looking around.

"Yeah," Nick responded, not really paying attention.

"Why don't we go sit down and talk about it," Alice offered, unknowing of how much she'd regret it.

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"Michael, thank goodness you're here," Alice let out a sigh of relief as Michael, Fiona, and Sam came through the front door. Nick had been crying and talking her ear off for the last two hours. Nick's girlfriend had been kidnapped by a man named Reyes. The kidnappers wanted 5 million dollars, thinking that Nick, who was just house sitting, owned the houses he sat for.

"We were turning one of the kidnappers men into a double agent," Michael filled her in.

"Sounds like fun," Alice joked.

"Oh yeah, it was a blast," Sam said, sarcastically.

"Nick, we need to borrow your car," Michael stated more than asked.

"You need to borrow the Mercedes?" Nick asked.

"Yeah."

"Just please try not to scratch that car. It's an S550 A.M.G. worth like, 120 grand," Nick pleaded.

"And we need a house," Michael kept going.

"There's a penthouse downtown that I watch. What do you need it for?" Nick questioned.

"We need to find where Dawn is being kept. Lucio doesn't know," Michael explained, "His job is just finding targets for Reyes, so we're going to have Lucio bring him a new target; a rich society wife."

"Enchante," Fiona said, signifying that she was to play the rich society wife.

"And a disgruntled bodyguard."

"Ya bitch," Sam said, "Talk to Reyes, tell him I'm willing to help him pull the job, but he's got to tell me where he keeps the hostages."

"Hopefully, they'll bring Sam to where Dawn is and we can grab her, but we've got to move fast. And we need a target that will make him drool," Michael finished the debrief.

Nick smiled and nodded, liking the plan. Alice nodded in approval, "Sounds good."

"Right, so just get us the keys and we'll get started," Michael smiled.

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"So this is your room," Nick showed her one of the guest rooms in the house. It was beautiful with a big, plush comforter on the bed, an alcove window seat, and a large antique mirror over the vanity.

"It'll do," Alice said with a smile. Nick let out a small laugh, mind still focused on Dawn, not really catching the joke. "Right, so I'm going to go get my bag from the car," Alice added.

It was dark outside. As she walked down the path towards the driveway, she heard rustling. She pulled out the gun that had been tucked in the rim of her pants and held it in front of her. A figure, dressed in black with a hood over his head, bolted from the bushes towards the back yard. Alice chased after him, firing a shot at his legs as she ran. She missed. He rounded the corner to the back yard, not far ahead of Alice, however when she turned the corner he was nowhere to be seen.

She slowed to a stop and scanned the yard. The man came out of his hiding place in the shadow of the house, behind a pillar, and knocked the gun out of Alice's hands. Alice didn't let it faze her. She quickly turned and threw a punch, landing it on his jaw.

He swung at her and she ducked, but she didn't see his next move as his leg swiped hers out from under her. She landed hard on the concrete. He made a move for the gun but Alice kicked at him, knocking him back. She scrambled back up to her feet and threw and uppercut to his stomach. He grunted. Alice used his distraction from the pain to her advantage and did a side kick that he wasn't prepared for. He fell backwards, tripping over a patio chair and landing on the side table which broke underneath him.

Alice grabbed her gun and trained it on him, waiting for him to get up. When he didn't, she walked closer. When the table broke, one of the legs pushed through and lodged itself in the back of the man's head. He was dead. Alice dropped her gun and her hands moved to cover her mouth. She was in shock. She had never killed anyone before. She took a few steps back, unsure of what to do.

The back door opened and Nick stepped out, "Is everything ok? I heard -" He stopped when he saw the man. "Is he dead?"

"A little," Alice said, looking back at the man.

"Oh my gosh," Nick began to freak out. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what are we going to do?"

"Ok, _you_ are going to go back in the house and keep quiet and never mention this again. _I _am going to go dispose of the body. There is no _we_." Alice explained.

"Yeah," Nick nodded, "Yeah ok."

"Good, now," Alice motioned to the door. Nick nodded and went back inside.

Alice sighed looking back at the body. Her mind went into overdrive thinking of the best way to dispose of the body. She could burn it but that would leave too much of a stench that someone would come and investigate. She could dump it in the ocean and let the salt water wash away all the evidence but who knew how long it would take to wash up on shore, and if it washed up too early, it could blow their operation. Alice decided she'd have to hide it. So where? Then she thought of the perfect place. A fresh grave in a cemetery.

She hoisted the body up and began to drag it to her car. One thing was for certain; this was going to be a long night.

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_**Here it is =) Hope you enjoyed that chapter. More to come soon**_


	4. Hard Bargins Part 2

That night Alice didn't sleep. She made up for it with lots of coffee.

"Morning," Nick said, coming into the kitchen. Alice put down her fourth cup and held out a fresh mug to Nick.

"Coffee?" She asked.

"Uh, no" Nick passed. "So what did you do with … uh …"

"You don't need to know," Alice told him. "And I told you, no more mentioning it; not to anyone."

"Sorry," Nick mumbled.

Alice heard the front door open. She grabbed her gun and made her way to the entrance hall, only to be pointing her gun at Sam.

"Whoa there, sister," he said, putting his hands up.

Alice let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and lowered her gun. She had to pull it together. She didn't want Michael or Sam or … anyone for that matter to know what had happened the previous night.

"Sorry, Sam," she tucked her gun back into her holster on the back of her pants.

"Fi will be here in a second, she just had to run an errand, and Mike will be here in about an hour; he's meeting with Reyes now," Sam explained. Alice nodded.

She went back to the kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee. Nick had gone into the other room with Fiona. Alice sat at the breakfast bar and looked out the window at where the patio table once stood. She stirred her coffee absent minded, replaying the events from last night in her head.

"Is that a Makarov?" Fiona's voice drifted from the den.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Hm?" Alice turned her head to Sam, standing in the doorway.

"Are you alright? You look like someone kicked your cat," Sam sat across from her.

"Sorry, I'm just a little distracted. Just um … worried about not getting a job, is all," Alice lied.

"Mhmm," Sam answered, obviously not believing her.

"How did we do?" Fiona asked from the other room.

"I bought us 48 hours," Michael's voice answered.

"Sounds like Michael's here," Alice said, escaping into the other room.

"I'm setting up a meeting with, uh, Lucio tonight. Lucio's gonna set up a meeting with Sam, and Sam will get them to tell us where they keep the hostages. And we're going to finish this," Michael explained.

"But what if they kill Dawn first?" Nick asked, worried. He made a glance over to Alice.

"They don't have a reason to … do they?" Michael looked at Alice for the answer.

"No," Alice said.

"Well like, don't all their guys need to check in? What if one doesn't?" Nick asked.

"Theoretically," Alice looked at Nick, as if to tell him to keep quiet.

"Alice, what happened?" Michael demanded.

"She killed a guy," Nick blurted out.

"Nick!" Alice cried, exasperated.

"What does he mean you killed a guy?" Michael looked at her, upset.

"Ok, so there was someone snooping around the house and we got into a fight and he fell and … it was an accident," Alice explained.

"When were you going to tell us?" Fiona questioned.

"Honestly, I wasn't," Alice said.

"Alice, this could ruin the operation," Michael told her.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do to fix it," Alice said, matter-of-factly.

"Actually, Mike, what if we get Lucio to make a cover story for the guy," Sam suggested.

"That might work. What happened to the body?" Michael asked.

"I buried it in a new grave at the City of Miami Cemetery," Alice told them.

Michael nodded, "Good. Okay, I'll go talk to Lucio."

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

Twenty-four hours later and Alice still hadn't gotten any sleep. It was the morning after Michael had convinced Lucio to cover. Sam was out, finding the location of Dawn, Michael had set up the tracking device on Sam and was monitoring it, and Fiona was with Nick and her.

"Alice, how much did you get last night?" Fiona asked.

"Uh," Alice wasn't sure if she wanted to answer.

"Was it your first time killing someone?" Fiona had figured it out fairly quickly. Alice nodded. "I had trouble sleeping too, the first time I … you know. It's hard at first but you'll get used to it."

"I killed a man," Alice looked at her in disbelief.

"A bad man who's killed many other people and would have killed Dawn if you hadn't stopped him. You did a good thing, Alice, just keep that in mind." Fiona fished in her bag and pulled out some pills. "Here," she handed her two, "Take these and then go get some sleep. You won't have any nightmares, I promise."

Alice hesitated, before taking the pills and doing as she was told.

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

Alice jolted when she felt ice cold water cover her. "What!? Huh?" She saw Michael standing beside the bed with a bucket and a towel. He tossed the towel over her face.

"Change your shirt, we have five minutes. You're covering me for my meet with Reyes," Michael explained shortly and stepped out of the room to give her privacy.

Alice towelled off her face, pulled her soaking wet tee-shirt off and slipped on a fresh one. She met Michael outside the door and they both went to the car, Michael carrying a rifle bag.

"How long did I sleep for?" Alice asked when they were on the road.

"About 4 hours," Michael told her.

"4 hou- but I thought we were going to get Dawn tonight and we didn't need to meet Reyes anymore?" Alice was so confused.

"Change of plans. Reyes wants the money now. Fi and Sam did a bit _too_ good when convincing him to take a new client. They're on their way to get Dawn now while I stall Reyes. You're going to be my cover, can you do that?" He questioned.

"Yeah, of course," Alice confirmed.

"Good," Michael sped along the freeway. He pulled into an alley behind a tall building. "I'm meeting Reyes in that yellow building across the street. I'll get him out to the balcony. If you set up on the roof it'll give you a good scouting point."

"Alright," Alice leaned over a kissed his cheek before climbing out of the car, "Be safe." She grabbed the rifle bag from the back and made her way up the fire escape to the top of the building while Michael drove over to the hotel. She had just finished setting up her scope when Michael and Reyes walked out onto the balcony. Alice's finger rested gently on the trigger, facing the gun towards Reyes. She prayed this all went well. The last thing she needed right now was more blood on her hands.

She watched Reyes face go livid as Michael tried to reason with the man. He started waving his finger at him. He pulled out his phone to make a call and Michael threw it over the balcony. Alice tensed as Reyes pulled out his hand gun and held it to Michael's head. She didn't shoot, because Michael obviously had a plan. Who throws an angry man's phone over the balcony without a plan? She wished she could hear their conversation. It would give her a better indication as to whether she should pull the trigger or not. Reyes looked confused as Michael spoke, that made Alice feel slightly better. Confused people usually didn't shoot. A few more moments and Reyes let the gun fall to his side. Alice let out a breath of relief. She watched Michael rattle on about something to keep Reyes distracted and hoped Sam and Fi would get Dawn out soon. Finally, Michael pulled his phone up to his ear. Alice knew it was Sam and Fi. It wasn't over yet though, Alice couldn't let her guard down until Michael was away from the building. He walked back into the apartment while Reyes stayed on the balcony. That was a good sign. She watched for another minute or two before packing up her gun and climbing down the fire escape. Michael was waiting for her at the bottom.

"Smooth sailing?" She asked with a joking smile.

"Ha, ha" Michael replied, passively. He drove them back to Nick's house.

They seemed to be the first to arrive. Michael sat with Nick on the couch and confirmed that they had successfully rescued Dawn.

"Seriously, bro. I don't even know how to thank you. Uh, those surfboards right there-," Nick started but Michael cut him off.

"Yeah, I don't surf."

"Okay. You're awesome, bro," Nick told him.

A horn honked outside and Michael jumped up, obviously uncomfortable in the situation. "Sounds like they're here." Alice followed him out.

"All set Mike. Hospital checked her out. She's fine," Sam told them.

"Is Nick here?" Dawn asked.

"He's inside," Michael informed.

"You guys should talk," Fiona added. Dawn nodded and went towards the house.

"Cakewalk, huh?" Michael asked Sam.

"Look, Mike, if you ever want to borrow my Caddy, it's yours," Sam offered.

"Thanks," Michael said.

"Do I get to borrow your Caddy, Sam?" Alice joked.

"I might be able to make that happen," Sam smiled.

They all looked over to see Dawn slap Nick. "You lied to me, you lied to me!" She yelled. There was another slap.

"Another happy ending," Sam commented.

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

_**So sorry I took so long on this one. I shall try to be more efficient in my uploading times from now on. Also, if you're concerned about how long it will take to get to Jesse, it won't be all too long. I plan to skip a lot, with Alice helping in a few episodes here and there and being a more prominent "character" towards the third season. **_


	5. Update

A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry it's been a while. I am going through some family issues right now with a death in the family and a family member in the hospital (the doctors are saying days). I appreciate all the positive feedback this story is getting and I am definitely continuing it, however it may be a few more weeks until I update, sorry. Just hang in there!


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